Facebook Lets Teens Go From Private to Public

By Aditi Mukherji, JD on October 17, 2013 9:39 AM

Facebook is relaxing its privacy rules for teens. The move allows teenagers, ages 13 to 17, to post status updates, videos and images that can be seen by anyone, not just their friends or people who know their friends.

But why is Facebook making the change? And what does this mean for teens and their parents?

Facebook's New Teen Privacy Policy

The changes, which are effective immediately, aim to help Facebook compete against other social networks that skew younger, and to attract advertisers.

For Facebook, public data on teens is an untapped goldmine. As far as Facebook is concerned, "marketers are keen to reach impressionable young consumers, and the more public information they have about those users, the better they are able to target their pitches," reports The New York Times.

To rationalize its decision, Facebook adopted a kid-centric tactic: finger-pointing. Facebook said many other sites and mobile apps -- Twitter, Instagram, ask.fm and Kik, to name a few -- allow teenagers to have a public voice, reports the Times.

But critics say that's an unfair comparison because those services allow users to operate under a handle, whereas Facebook requires teenagers to use their real identities.

Facebook has also changed another aspect of its rules for teens, for which it drew "Likes" from parents and advocates alike. By default, new accounts for teenagers will be set up to share information only with friends, not "friends of friends" as before. (But teens can change the settings to public, so...).

Categories:

Tags:

About Law and Daily Life

Law and Daily Life strives to address the legal questions and circumstances that arise in our everyday lives, including the laws that affect our family life, workplace and personal finances. Have a comment or tip? Write to us.